A/N: I actually like this chapter, so I hope everyone else does!!!

An Unbelievable Truth

Meryl slowly awoke from her slumber, feeling too comfortable to want to move. The darkness of her unconsciousness nearly caused her to return to sleep. Then the memories came flashing into her mind, and she bolted up. She twisted her head to her left, nearly shrinking back as her eyes fell on the blond kneeling next to her.

Vash saw her face pale, and managed to keep a strained smile on his lips. He knew another explanation would soon be demanded, and was not looking forward to this conversation any more than the last. Her reaction after the truth was told would more likely be less pleasing than the last, and that prospect sent a sudden ache to his heart. He did not wish to leave the two insurance girls he had grown fond of, and had no desire to become a wanderer once more.

Millie was seated at Meryl's feet, her worried eyes perking up at the sight of her partner awakened. She had been told of the incident and what had caused her friend to collapse, but had taken the explanation in stride. The most pressing matter had been to care for the smaller insurance girl, who had appeared deathly pale on being carried into the house. And even if she had been frightened by the tale told to her, the care with which Vash had shown toward Meryl would have quickly shattered any doubts of his motives toward the well-being of her partner.

Wolfwood suddenly stood in the doorway, a cigarette in his mouth. Vash looked over his shoulder, silently nodding to his friend before he returned his attention to Meryl's questioning, and somewhat fearful, face. He gave her a reassuring smile, feeling her features softened at his attempt at comfort.

"Millie, can you watch Meryl for a second?" he asked, receiving a positive reply.

Standing up, Vash followed the priest out of the room, closing the door behind them. Breathing a heavy sigh, he turned toward his friend with a saddened face.

"Well Vash, what are we going to do?" Wolfwood whispered, not wanting the girls to overhear. "I think they're willing to follow us if they think we're in trouble. But we can't stay with them."

The blond nodded his head in agreement, turning his face back to the closed door. He could hear Meryl and Millie softly talking, though he chose not to listen into their conversation. He sighed quietly, returning his gaze to the expectant priest.

"We have to tell them everything, and they have to decide" he answered, a sad smile crossing his lips. They could only hope the two would forgive them for their secrets, and choose the safest path they saw for themselves.

An hour later found the four in the kitchen, tension thick in the air. Meryl and Millie sat opposite Vash at the kitchen table, their eyes fixed on the blond intently. Wolfwood was complacently leaning against the wall connecting to the living room, smoking a cigarette and waiting for his friend to begin.

"I didn't believe in vampires either, until several years ago" Vash began, trying to gather the courage needed to tell his tale. "I never knew my parents, and had always lived with my older twin brother, Knives, in the city of December. We got jobs when they came, ate what we wanted, and slept in a warm bed when we had money. That's pretty much how our life was for a long time, living off what we had and enjoying each other's company, no one else's. Until the winter we were about twenty years old."

Meryl and Millie's eyes had widened slightly at the mention of an older brother, but neither had spoken. Interrupting Vash in his story would have made the blond more uncomfortable than he already was, and would have made the tale that much harder to tell.

"My brother was savagely attacked one night while he was walking to the house we were staying at. Before sunrise, I found him on the doorstep and dragged him to his bed." Vash paused for a moment, reliving the memories. After a shaky breath, he continued. "I thought he was in a coma, but...I was wrong. He had died during the night, all his blood taken by a vampire."

Meryl silently nodded for him to continue, her eyes never leaving the broken figure before her.

"He woke up a few days later. I was so happy to see his eyes open that I didn't notice the different color. Or how hard they looked." Vash sighed, pacing himself during the resurfacing memories. "But I noticed the change in his manner soon enough. He refused to come outside during the day, and he had a growing hatred for humans. He kept saying how they were inferior and were destroying each other." Tears grew in his eyes, though he managed to keep them from pooling over. "But I ignored all these differences. I just wanted everything to be like they were, with both of us together."

"What happened?" Meryl asked quietly, resting her hand over his.

Vash blushed at the contact, but didn't pull away. He was silently grateful for her comforting presence, and her willingness to hear and understand.

"He...he attacked me one night, a few weeks after he'd been turned. I couldn't fight back, he was so much stronger than me. He ripped open his wrist, forced me to drink some of his blood. Then the sun rose and he left me, barely alive after our struggle. But his plan failed, he'd thought merely a blood transfer was enough to change me. When I had enough strength, I...I ran. I couldn't kill my own brother, no matter what he'd become." A single tear slid down his pale cheek, when suddenly a small hand brushed the drop away.

Only a few hours earlier, Meryl would have thought the man before her had gone insane. The idea of vampires existing in the world was ludicrous, especially to her calculating mind. But the sheer conviction in his voice, and what she had seen for herself, eliminated all doubt from her thoughts. All her fear from the confrontation the night before was swept aside by her caring nature. When she'd seen the water sliding down his face, she couldn't help but try to wipe away his sorrow.

"Ever since then, Knives can sense where I am, but I can't sense him unless he wants me to. That's how his messenger found us, and you two. My brother's threatened your lives, and now you're both in danger because of me." He pulled his hand out from Meryl's, his head hanging in shame at the peril he had inadvertently caused the two insurance girls.

"What other...affects, are there?" Meryl asked hesitantly, not really sure if she wanted to know. Every tale she'd heard of vampires was less than flattering, especially concerning their eating habits. The idea that this goofy, spiky-haired idiot could be a creature so horrible was still hard to grasp.

"There's the hunger" Vash said quietly, averting his eyes from everyone. Especially Meryl's. "I...I only feel the need when someone is bleeding. Another reason not to shoot people" he quietly chuckled, though there was little mirth in his voice.

"Do you need to eat anything?" Millie suddenly asked, startling Meryl out of her shocked expression.

After all, if she'd been injured last night by the drunk, she had no idea how the blond would have reacted. Meryl tried to suppress the shudder, horrible images coming to her mind. Vash had been startling enough within the darkness....and his eyes....

A sheepish grin crept on the blond's face, as he lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck. "My body isn't able to produce enough sucrose in my system, so I have to eat a lot of sweets."

"Are you saying you survive on sugar?" Meryl asked him incredulously, shaking herself from the morbid thoughts. Her earlier suspicions about his eating habits may have actually been the truth, and the only thing she wanted to do was knock her head against the table at the pathetic irony. Though his revealed eating habits did explain the vehicle filled to overflowing with the round sweets.

"Yeah" he said, nodding his head. Vash stuffed a few donuts from an open box on the table into his mouth, as if to emphasize his point, before elaborating further. "I only eat other food to keep everyone's suspicions off me."

Meryl suddenly coughed, cigarette smoke invading her lungs. She turned her head toward the reclined figure against the wall, her brows crashing down. Another conspirator in their midst.

"You knew of this, didn't you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. The answer to the question was apparent, but she still felt the need to scare someone out of their wits.

Wolfwood held up his hands defensively, knowing well enough that any word he spoke would ignite the small dynamic woman scowling at him. Slowing he slid the short distance along the wall, quickly disappearing out of sight. Then the noise of footsteps quickly climbing the stairs was heard, followed by the slamming of a bedroom door. After a few seconds of silence, in which Meryl was trying hard to stay mad at the obviously terrified priest, Millie stood up, stretching her back and yawning.

"I think I'll hit the sack" she said, giving the two a warm smile. With a final goodnight wave, she left to sleep.

Meryl stared at the retreating tall female, her mouth slightly open. She still marveled at how her partner could accept people's differences with such ease, even one as large as species. And now that they knew their life was in danger, she seemed just as calm as usual. Sometimes the small insurance girl envied Millie's innocence, though she knew there was wisdom in the words the big girl spoke.

"I'll leave if you want me to" a voice whispered.

Meryl turned her eyes back to the blond before her, whose head was hanging down dejectedly. Her heart softened at the saddened man before her, especially after hearing his story. The betrayal of family must have been heart breaking to such a kind soul.

"Don't be foolish" she said, pushing back her chair. Meryl managed to let a short laugh escape her mouth, trying to comfort his unease. "You're our guest, and you really don't have anywhere else to go."

Vash lifted his head, his eyes wide in surprise. Meryl's word slowly sunk in, and a small smile crept across his face. He suddenly stood up and hugged her tight, making the small insurance girl blush. She felt no impulse to push him away, the contact being more gentle then the last time he had shown her such affection.

"Thank you" he softly whispered in her ear, before releasing her and walking out of the room.

Meryl stood there for a few moments, her face still reddened by his sudden contact. Letting a smile slide along her lips and shaking her head, she went to prepare for bed.